Inside A New World
by Sukkari
Summary: When the Imagine Breaker interfered with Othinus's attempt to end the world, the result was Halkegenia. This is the story of five people who stood face to face against Othinus before she ended the world in Halkegenia.
1. Prologue

They were in an island made up of countless wrecked ships.

Standing in front of Touma was a blonde girl in a witch outfit, holding a golden lance about thrice her size.

"It's too late." The girl said.

The girl was Othinus. A Magic God who removed her 50% probability of succeeding and failing thanks to that golden lance, and ascended into a existence that could do anything she desired.

In the end, Touma failed to stop the lance from being constructed.

He was too late.

Index, Misaka Mikoto, Lessar, and Levinia Birdway who had been onboard with the boat together with him could only stare in horror at Othinus.

Othinus lightly shook her lance.

"What a pain dealing with you people. I think I'll just end the world."

Everything was immediately destroyed.

The world plunged into darkness.

But within that darkness, a voice could be heard.

"If you think you can truly end the world, then let me first crush that fucked up illusion of yours."


	2. Chapter 1

Leivinia slowly opened her eyes to the sunlight through a window, finding herself lying inside a room.

It was as large as her own room back in London, about half a soccer field in size. All the furnitures inside were beautiful antiques, each commanding a high price if she were to sell everything here in an auction.

Before Othinus ended the world with her lance, she was with Touma, Lessar, Mikoto, and Index at Sargasso, an area composed of multiple islands made from wrecked ships.

_If you think you can truly end the world, then let me first crush that fucked up illusion of yours._

Within that darkness, Leivinia heard Touma saying this as she gradually lost consciousness.

"So where the hell am I now?"

She looked outside the window. There was a large field with castle towers built around it.

"Hmm. Castle? I don't think I'm in Tokyo anymore. Perhaps I'm in a castle in Britian."

What exactly did the Imagine Breaker do, Leivinia had no idea, but it must have stopped Othinus from destroying the world and teleported her here if she's still alive.

"I'll contact Mark to pick me up from this strange place."

Leivinia reached for her pocket, but there was no pocket. She was wearing a white blouse, with her panties almost visible.

My clothes are gone? I'll put on some clothes, then I'll go get a phone outside.

She went to the wardrobe, and picked a skirt and a uniform top. The clothes fit her size perfectly. Leivinia had an odd feeling that this was her room, despite not remembering having such a room in all her hideouts.

After Leivinia was done, she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in."

A pink-haired girl wearing the same uniform top and skirt as Levinia, but with a black cape and a pentagon emblem attached at the front, appeared.

"Are you okay?" The girl said.

"I'm fine. Do you have a phone somewhere? I need to make a call."

"Phone? What is this phone that you speak of?"

Leivinia stared at the girl, confused.

"Something that I can use to call somebody?"

"Something used to call somebody? Phone? Did the blow to your head caused you to say such weird things?!"

Louise was flustered. Yesterday, the whole class was at the large field, practising line-level spells when she failed casting the spell as usual, causing a large explosion that knocked the newly transfer student, and her only friend thus far, from Albion unconscious for a day. Now, she's uttering strange things such as phone. And it was all her fault.

"Are you sure you don't know what a phone is?"

Leivinia was doubtful that it was possible for somebody to not know what a phone is. Unless she was in a forest in Africa, everyone living in a castle must know what a phone is.

"No... I don't."

"Then do you know where I am?"

"Don't you remember? Tristain's Academy Of Magic."

Did the explosion cause her to lose her memory as well? Louise thought.

She braced herself for the worst.

"Do you remember who I am?"

Leivinia said, "I don't even know you. Look here, I'm Leivinia Birdway, leader of the Dawn-coloured Sunlight. Due to reasons you don't need to know, I was somehow teleported here. I need a phone so that I can contact my subordinate to pick me up."

"Dawn-coloured Sunlight? Is that some secret organisation in Albion that I do not know of? An-And what do you mean by you were teleported here?"

My explosion went too far. It's all my fault that you're like that. Louise thought.

"Doesn't matter. Tristain huh? I might be in Wales... wait, Academy Of Magic? You mean, you learn magic here? That's impossible, such academies in England would be destroyed by Necessarius in a heartbeat."

Louise shook her head. Memory loss plus signs of speaking gibberish. Perhaps she would need a better cure potion to heal her mind damage.

"What country are we in?" Leivinia asked.

There was something strange about this place that Leivinia could not shake off after realizing that phones do not exist here, and that this is a magic academy. Nobody would openly announce that they're teaching magic because its supposed to be practised in secrecy. Whether be it in Europe, Asia, and Australia, there's no exception. Leivinia wasn't sure about Africa, but it should be the same.

"Tristain."

"Is this some kind of a joke? Tristain isn't a country."

Louise smiled, "I think you need to get some more rest. I'll get you a better healing potion, so don't worry, you'll be alright soon enough."

Leivinia pulled out a card from thin air.

This might be a castle in England, where mass brainwashing of people through magic are taking place for reasons unknown. This girl's lack of knowledge about what a phone despite living in a castle, and thinking that this school is a magic academy is probably a side-effect.

Louise was taken aback, "How did you do that?!"

This newly transfer student from Albion had severe problems even with a dot-class spell, so how was she able to smoothly pull off a dot-class spell now? Was her mind damaged from the explosion, but in exchange, she got better in magic due to the injury?

Leivinia muttered, "Temperance."

The card glowed, and she threw it towards Louise's forehead, before disappearing once it touched Louise. It was Major Arcana card symbolizing healing. It should cure her from most mental brainwashing spell.

"Alright now," Leivinia said, brimming with confidence mixed with some haughtiness, "Where exactly are we?"

"Tristian? What did you do to me just now?"

Louise felt a warm glow surrounding her body for a moment when the card touched her forehead, but she felt nothing different in particular after that.

Leivinia frowned, "This quick fix doesn't work. I guess I'll need a specialised method for this, but I don't have the necessary ingredients with me."

"What quick fix? I don't understand. Maybe you really need some more rest, you're spouting even more gibberish."

Louise decided not to disturb Leivinia anymore.

"See you."

Leivinia decided to get out of this place as soon as possible to the nearest town.

* * *

Leivinia descended through the dark spiral staircase, lit up by torches placed at intervals. Everything about this place from her bedroom to the layout was very medieval, like she went back in time into the 1600s.

No electricity? I can see why this girl would not know what a phone is.

Exiting the staircase, she was now in a hallway with people in the same uniform top as the pink-haired girl before. All of them had capes either in brown or black.

I get the feeling I'm in Hogwarts Castle.

Leivinia had watched the first movie from the Harry Potter series, and found their magic system rather amusing.

"Hey Leivinia, the classroom is over there, lesson is starting soon, and where's your cape?"

Leivinia ignored the girl who called out to her, and kept on walking.

How does she know my name?

The strange feeling from before resurfaced. There is something very wrong with this place that Leivinia could not seem to grasp.

"Where are you going?"

Leivinia heard a boy calling out to her, and ignored him as well.

Despite being a magic academy, Leivinia could not sense any mana from the people walking around her. However, she could still sense the natural mana flow around her surroundings. However, the mana itself felt different, and the mana flow pattern as well.

The feeling was something like drinking water from a river tasting like potato chips, and the water flowing in unnatural directions.

Leivinia looked around. This scene around her was definitely impossible.

Students with capes walking about a castle that was actually a magic academy. Some were even levitating into the hallway from outside. Perhaps in Harry Potter or any other magical fantasy movies, but not in her world.

Don't tell me... I'm in a different world?

"Leivinia? Great! You're here as well!"

Leivinia turned behind to see a familiar face in a maid outfit.

* * *

"Maid? Rather fitting."

Leivinia was inside the kitchen quarters with Lessar dressed in a maid outfit like those you would see in a cosplay maid cafe in Akihabara.

"I really thought I was the only one stuck in this fucked up world! I'm so glad to see you here."

"Yeah, it's pretty fucked up. The mana here is very different, not to mention the flow as well."

Lessar sighed, "My magic is gone as well. I'm no different from a weak 13 year old girl."

Yesterday morning, Lessar woke up inside a large room in the kitchen quarters with rows of bed placed inside. It was like a bedroom for slaves inside a castle. All her magical artifacts, including her dragon tail disappeared.

Of course, she tried to escape this strange place. Even without her magical artifacts, she could still cast defensive spells.

However, the horrifying thing was that her spells didn't work, and she was easily recaptured by the guards. Lessar realized that she was a maid working inside a magic academy. This must be a different world because magic academies did not exist, and the overall atmosphere was more like a fantasy setting like Harry Potter than reality.

Lessar waited for nightfall so she could sneak out. After passing through a few secret pathways, she reached the final 100 meter sprint to the exit through the large field.

Lessar turned back when she saw two moons in the night sky. No doubt about it, this is definitely a different world. With no magic to protect herself, working as a maid in that magic academy was a better option than running wild into a world she doesn't understand yet.

"But my magic works just fine?" Leivinia said.

She stretched out her palm.

Nothing appeared.

"See, I told you so." Lessar said.

Leivinia pondered about this strange phenomenon. Her Major Arcana magic worked fine when she was in that room with the pink-haired girl. But now she can't even produce a simple fireball in her palm?

"This is a different world, am I right?"

"Yes..."

It seemed as though Leivinia figured out the mystery behind this.

A small fireball appeared on her palm.

Lessar stared, astounded.

"How did you do that?!"

While her speciality wasn't in fire, simple spells like producing a small fireball wasn't beyond Lessar. But no matter how hard Lessar tried, the spell refused to work.

"Your magic is based on Norse Mythology mixed with Christianity, right?"

"And what does that got to do with anything?"

"What if I tell you Norse Mythology and Christianity no longer exist in this world? If that's the case, isn't it expected that your magic is gone? I'm sure you're just like me. You still can create mana within you, but unable to use that mana for your spells."

Mana is a magical energy created by processing the inner life force that all humans possess. It is fuel that determines how powerful a spell can be. Casting the spell would require a command.

Referencing an existing legend into creating a command is just like writing with your dominant hand. It is possible to create a new command from nothing, but it would be like writing with your non-dominant hand.

In Lessar's case, if the existing legend no longer exists, the command would not work, and so would her spells. However, in Leivinia's case, she created a new command from nothing, so the fireball spell worked. But it was like writing with her non-dominant hand, difficult.

The reason why her Major Arcana magic worked must be because tarot cards exist in this world in the same way as her world.

"Miss Birdway, lesson is starting soon, please hurry before you're late."

Beside Leivinia, was another maid dressed like Lessar. She had short, black hair, and a sweet smile.

"You are?"

The maid bowed slightly.

"I'm Itsuwa. A maid in this academy."

"Oh yeah," Lessar said, "Who exactly is Leivinia Birdway?"

If she woke up as a maid, then who did Leivinia woke up as?

Itsuwa smacked Lessar on the head, "Oh my! Don't be so rude, Lessar. It's Miss Birdway. She's a noble from a respected family in Albion. I'm sorry, she's a new maid here." and bowed profusely.

"A noble...? What do you mean by noble?" Leivinia said.

"Did the explosion from yesterday cause you to lose part of your memory? A noble is somebody who can use magic, unlike us commoners who can't cast any magic."

Lessar cut in, "Good for you, Lei-"

Itsuwa smacked Lessar's head again, and whispered into her ears.

"It's for your safety that you don't be so rude. Angering a noble can mean death."

Lessar rubbed her head, " Alright, alright! It hurts. Lei-Miss Birdway. Think of nobles as those nobles in medieval England and you should have a fair idea of your position in this world."

"I see. This is very... interesting."

Even in a different world, Leivinia still held power, but instead of being the leader of a 10,000 strong magic cabal powerful enough to rival a nation, she was now a noble.

Leivinia somewhat understood what nobles could do in medieval periods from the dramas she watched during her spare time.

Practically anything towards commoner at least. This should be why the maid Itsuwa was so careful around her.

A thought came to her mind. Leivinia decided to test out her new-found power.

Leivinia grinned. Perhaps it was the naturally intimidating aura she gave off, but Lessar sensed great danger in her grin.

"Lessar, as punishment for being so rude. I order you to do 500 push ups continuously. Itsuwa, please see to it that Lessar does her pushups properly. If she does even one less, I'll punish you as well."

Lessar pointed a trembling finger at Leivinia, "Yo-yo-you cruel bitch! 500 push ups?! What did I do to offend you in the first place! I did nothing!"

"Another 500 push ups for calling me a bitch. You know what, forget it. Itsuwa."

"Yes, Miss Birdway."

"Bring me my cape and show me the way to the classroom. I'm almost late already."*

* * *

Leivinia stepped inside the classroom which looked more like a lecture hall to her. Like a terrance hill, rows of desks were placed on the successively receding flat platform. At the bottom, there was a platform with a desk on it and a blackboard.

She noticed the girl from before with long, pink hair seated at the far right top corner of the classroom.

Leivinia walked up the stairs and sat beside the pink-haired girl. It seems as though the previous Leivinia knew her, but lost her memory.

"What is your name?"

"Don't you want to rest some more? Your mind damage is pretty serious."

And that is all my fault. Louise lamented mentally.

"I recovered partially. But my memory loss is pretty serious, so I thought I'd try to jog my memories back."

Leivinia's primary strategy was to use her apparent memory loss to hide her ignorance about this new world. Somehow, when Othinus ended the world, the Imagine Breaker must have interfered, causing this strange phenomenon to happen.

"Oh... I see."

Renewed confidence emerged from Louise. Yes, she could make things right again by helping Leivinia get her memories back.

Louise proudly placed a hand in front of her chest, "I'm Louise Francoise Le Blanc De La Valliere."

"Or Louise The Zero, you mean?"

Below them was a dark-skinned girl with an especially developed chest.

"I'm Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt Zerbst, or you can call me Kirche. That explosion must have damaged your mind quite a fair bit."

"Wait, what explosion?" Leivinia said.

Kirche laughed, "Louise didn't tell you? I'll tell you then. Yesterday, we were in the field practising line-class spell when Louise The Zero's explosion knocked you unconscious for the whole day. I didn't expect it to cause memory loss."

Louise's face burned red with shame.

Any spell, be it based on Fire, Water, Wind and Earth will result in an explosion if its Louise casting it. Because of her zero success rate in casting a proper spell, the nickname Louise The Zero was born.

In front of that obnoxious Kirche, Louise had to maintain her pride as her noble.

"It was ju-just a little mistake! I'm sure Leivinia will recover soon enough."

The door opened, and a teacher entered.

She was a middle-aged woman dressed in a voluminous purple robe wearing a hat. She had a plump, round face with a friendly expression on it.

"Hello, I'm the new teacher for this term. My name is Chevreuse, and my Runic name is 'Red Clay', so I'm Chevreuse The Red Clay. I'll be teaching you students all about Earth magic. For starters, who knows what are the four great elements of magic?"

A boy who had soft, blue eyes and gave off a casanova aura with his hairstyle and way of dressing raised his rose, "Of course. It's Fire, Water, Wind and Earth. By the way, I happen to be of the Earth element as well." and made a small bow before tossing his hair, "I'm Guiche De Gramont and my Runic name is 'Bronze'. Pleased to meet you, madam."

"Nice to meet you too."

Chevreuse waved her wand, and a few pebbles appeared on her desk.

"Right. Today, we'll be starting on the basics of Earth magic, transmutation."

Twirling her wand at the pebbles, she muttered a few incarnations, and it began to glow and shake before turning into something golden.

Kirche leaned forward, "Wow! Is that gold?"

"It's just brass."

"Oh." Kirche leaned back onto her seat like a deflated balloon.

Chevreuse kept the brass away and manifested pebbles on the desk again.

"In order for you to understand, let's have somebody demostrate... you over there."

She pointed her wand at Leivinia.

"Me...?"

"Yes, you. You're the newly transfer student from Albion, am I right? I heard the curriculum in Albion is slightly different, but you should have some experience with transmuation."

"I suppose so."

Leivinia walked gracefully down the staircase, and stood in front of the pebbles.

"Just visualize vividly the metal that you wish to transmute them into, and you'll be fine."

Because Alchemy was an unrefined knowledge in Leivinia's world, the art of transmutation has only been limited to turning base metals into gold, or any other valuable metal. Furthermore, transmutation was not as simple as waving your wand and mutter a few incarnations. It required a very costly, and complicated setup.

Then again, this was a different world.

"... How do I cast this spell again? I forgot."

"The incarnations are In Ran Yen." Chevreuse said.

Leivinia pulled out her wand that opened up like a flower.

So those are the new commands? It's just plain gibberish to me.

She decided to try anyway. Following the teacher's instructions, Leivinia focused on visualization to transmute the pebbles into a metal she wanted.

"In Ran Yen."

The pebbles did not move. There was no reaction. Leivinia did not understand the laws behind this incarnation, so she could not process her mana to make the transmutation spell work.

"I guess you need more practise then." Chevreuse said.

"Don't worry. I'll help you brush up on your basics later." Louise said as Leivinia was back in her desk.

"Louise The Zero is actually teaching somebody magic?" Kirche supressed her laughter, "Oh, Leivinia, why don't I teach you instead, I'll make a better teacher than her."

"Shut up. Not like you're any better." Louise said.

Chevreuse noticed Louise talking.

"Miss Valliere!"

"Y-Yes?"

"Please refrain from private chatter during lessons."

"I'm sorry, but Miss Zerbst is being annoying."

"Since you have the time to chatter, perhaps I should have you demonstrate for me?"

Instead of standing up, Louise remained seated, looking troubled as she fidgeted about.

Chevreuse called for her again, but Kirche raised her voice in concern.

"Umm..."

"Yes?"

"I think it would be better if you didn't let her..."

"And why is that?"

"It's dangerous. I'll do the demonstration instead." Kirche answered.

The majority of the class nodded in agreement.

Unable to endure being constantly looked down by her classmates, Louise stood up.

"Since she called for me, I'll do it! And this time, I'll succeed!"

"Don't Louise! Remember what happened to Leivinia!" Kirche cried.

"Yeah, your success rate is zero! Zero you hear me!" Guiche cried as well.

Louise ignored all of their cries and walked in front of the desk, and as she waved her to cast the transmutation spell, Leivinia realized why everyone was so afraid of letting Louise try.

A large explosion occurred, knocking the teacher unconscious, and the classroom ended up in ruins.

* * *

"I see why they call you Louise The Zero."

Leivinia was walking through the hallway with Louise, heading to the library to brush up on Leivinia's basics.

"It wa-was just a little mistake, that's all."

Louise Francoise Le Blanc De La Valliere, the third daughter of the well-known Valliere family. Hopeless in magic. Any spell she cast would end up in an explosion.

Leivinia herself uses explosion attacks by using Telesma, a special kind of mana that humans cannot create on their own, so she didn't think that Louise is that hopeless. After all, her explosion was powerful enough to destroy a classroom the size of a lecture hall.

"Have you thought of controlling your explosions and use it as an offensive spell?"

"Are you making fun of me just like the rest?"

Louise kept her view in front, with an annoyed look on her face. It seemed that this was a taboo for her.

Leivinia concluded that she could not control her explosions, because if she could, Louise would have figured that out in her 14 years of practising magic.

"Just a thought."

Leivinia actually didn't need to rely on anybody unlike Lessar, who lost all her magic. She still had her Major Arcana magic, and since the four elements in this world are still Wind, Water, Earth and Fire, her symbolic weapon will still work.

But she needed Louise to explain things about magic in this new world to her, and fumbling around within a mysterious world that uses unknown set of magical laws was stupid.

Leivinia was looking forward to make Lessar bow down to her in exchange for teaching her magic.

* * *

"How did you do that without your wand?"

Louise and Leivinia was inside the magic library, practising simple dot-class spells.

"I don't need my wand for a simple spell like this."

In Louise's world, a magician is powerless without their wands because they rely on it to cast spells. Even very powerful mages like her mother Karin must use a wand as well.

Louise only knew Leivinia for about two days, so she wasn't sure of her true capabilities. As far as Louise knew, Leivinia was a student as bad in magic as her. The difference is that Leivinia failing to cast a spell would not cause an explosion unlike her.

After suffering from a concussion thanks to her explosion, it seem as though some kind of magicial talent was unlocked within Leivinia... and it made her a lot more scarier.

She gave off an intimidating aura, like a truly powerful noble who strikes fear into anyone just by looking at them. Leivinia not using a wand for her spells was proof.

If I were to knock my head just like Leivinia, would I wake up being able to cast proper magic and stop being Louise The Zero? And there's that familiar summoning ritual tomorrow!

"What's a familiar by the way?"

Leivinia heard that there was a familiar summoning ritual tomorrow along the way to the library. An image of a witch and a black cat came into mind, but in a world with two moons according to Lessar, a familiar could be something very different.

Louise cleared her throat, "Okay. A familiar is something that you summon that determines your elemental affinity. It also determines your strength as a mage. The stronger your familiar, the stronger you are."

"Oh, its Louise The Zero. Fancy meeting you here."

It was Kirche. Beside her was another blue-haired girl with a book in one hand, and a staff on another hand.

"And what are you doing here?" Louise said.

"I'm just here with Tabitha studying in preparation for the ritual tomorrow." Kirche put a finger to her lip, "I wonder what will Louise The Zero summon? Nothing? That would be most fitting!" and let out a chuckle.

Louise stood up, "When it comes to the ritual, I have absolute confidence!"

The silence in the library was instantly shattered, surprising Kirche.

"Just you wait, Kirche. I'll summon the most divine, beautiful, and powerful familiar! Not even with everyone else's familiar combined will surpass my familiar!"

"I'll be looking forward to your most divine, beautiful and powerful familiar then. Miss Valliere."

Louise sat back down, and Kirche and Tabitha went towards another table some distance away.

She clenched her fist as she focused her book on the proper technique of summoning a familiar.

It's my only chance to change things. I have to get that summoning ritual right!

* * *

The large, green field which Leivinia could see clearly from the window in her dorm was bustling with activity. After a briefing from their professor named Colbert, a bald man with a wooden pole like staff, the students were off to summon their familiars.

Honestly, this is getting more and more ridiculous. Leivinia thought as she looked at the creatures that filled the area. Some of them were probably pulled out from a kid's personal drawing journal.

I hate pets. What's the difference between the Springtime Familiar Summoning Ritual and being forced to adopt a pet from SPCA.

Leivinia could not see any path available to get her and Lessar out of this strange world for now, so she decided to play along, and find out more about this world.

So far, she realized that the magic system in this world was rather underdeveloped.

Dot and Line-class spell were child's play. Triangle-class spells were at a level of an amateur magician, and Square-class spells were at a level of a strong magician. Theoretically, any magician below Square-class level can be obliterated by the average magician in Levinia's world.

"Are you okay with the 'Summon Servant' spell?" Louise, who stood beside Leivinia asked.

"Well, we studied the whole afternoon, so I guess we should be fine."

"Hi~ Louise and Leivinia."

Kirche appeared with a red salamander as large as tiger. At the tip of its tail was a small candle-like flame.

"Cheh. Just a ordinary salamander." Louise said, her voice condescending.

"What ordinary salamander? It's a salamander from the Fire Dragon Mountains. Not even collectors can put a price on this. Or are you telling me you'll summon a better one?"

Louise puffed out her chest, "Of course!"

"Miss Valliere, it's your turn." Colbert called out.

"Ahahaha. I'm looking forward to see what you're about to summon." Kirche said, "Oh, and Leivinia, take as many steps back as possible away from Louise. Don't want her explosions to cause another memory loss, do you?"

Leivinia ignored her. She never really liked girls with big chests, especially after her incident with Kanzaki Kaori.

As Louise stood in the centre of the crowd, she tried her best to shut out all the negative comments from the onlookers.

I can do it! I can do it! No matter what they say about me, I can do it!

She lifted her wand, and shut her eyes.

Please make it work!

"Somewhere in this world, my wise, divine and beautiful servant. Heed my call as I summon you into this world!"

Instead of an explosion, an unnatural sound of glass breaking resounded.

Louise tried again. It was the same sound.

Her hand holding the wand began to tremble.

She tried one more time. It was a different sound, similar to the sound before but distorted.

And then, no more sound appeared.

No matter how hard Louise tried, nothing came out.

Colbert gently pulled Louise's hand down, "Miss Valliere, perhaps you might want to try again later?"

"... I'm Louise The Zero after all. This is to be expected. Yes, this is to be expected."

Louise controlled herself from breaking down, and kept her expression neutral for as long as she could until she reached her dorm room.

Just when she was about to make her way back to her dorm, the ground shook and the sky turned dark.

At the center of the dark sky, there was a tall, vertical light pillar that seemed to stretch upwards towards infinity.

A red dragon with wings attached to its forearm about the size of three large airship combined shot out from the light.

It floated about a meter away from Louise. A flap of its wings sent everyone flying in random directions within the field, except for Leivinia, who had a sword in hand, and an air barrier surrounding her.

Louise stared at the monster in front of her as she got back up on her feet.

Was that what she had summoned? A fully grown Nidhoggr?! It was one of the most powerful dragons ever lived.

"Di-Did Louise The Zero outdo herself?!"

"I can't believe it!"

The other students were stunned at Louise apparently summoning a Nidhoggr.

"Wasn't both Nidhoggr already destroyed? Why is it here again?" Leivinia said.

Leivinia had no idea what Louise did, but her battle instinct told her that this Nidhoggr was out to kill her.

Nidhoggr spewed a fiery stream towards Louise. Instinctively, she waved her wand. The explosion dispelled the flames, and the impact knocked her backwards.

Leivinia directed her sword toward Nidhoggr and summoned a tornado, launching it into the air. Without wasting any time, four cards appeared in Leivinia's hand and disappeared one by one.

Leivinia devised a new system of her own after understanding the magic system in this world.

The magic system of this world is such that element stacking up to four elements is possible. The more element you stack, the stronger the spell would be.

Dot-class spell means no element stacked onto the original element of the spell. Line-class spell means one element stacked. Triangle-class spell means two elements stacked, and Square-class spell means three elements stacked.

By interpreting each of her Major Arcana cards as elements, she could create a four card combo to augment her spell.

The tornado turned into a large wind blade. Leivinia swung down her sword, and that wind blade sliced Nidhoggr into two.

This was a Wind-Wind-Wind-Wind spell.

"The strongest dragon ever lived... sliced into two just like that?!"

"Is Leivinia secretly a square-class wind mage?"

"My eyes must be lying to me."

Everyone's attention was now on Leivinia. All of them were extremely impressed with Leivinia's display of her strength, and forgot about making fun of how Louise The Zero had bitten off more than she can chew.

* * *

_Somewhere in this world, my wise, divine and beautiful servant._

_Heed my call as I summon you into this world!_

Touma opened his eyes to the clear, blue sky above him. He felt a prickly sensation on his back, and got up, finding himself in a field with tree surrounding him.

I'm in a forest? What was that voice before?

It kept on repeating, and it stopped when Touma felt a loose stream of anger fired towards the voice from his right hand.

Touma noticed strange markings on his left hand.

Just what the hell is that?

* * *

**Author's Note: **Alright, this is my first fanfic, so if there's any mistakes, do point them out to me so I can improve.

This is my solution to send Touma into Halkegenia without destroying too much suspension of disbelief. The ending of NT8. I'm quite surprised that nobody thought of it yet, but oh well. Maybe some of you thought of it, but just didn't have the time to write it.

So far for this chapter, we have Leivinia Birdway and Lessar. I feel that this chapter was more like a info dump to familiarize both sides about the ZnT universe and the ToAru universe. Basically, I'm assuming that readers would probably only be familiar with only one universe, so I tried my best to explain as much as I could without it being feel like a info dump.

Oh, and Louise did try to summon Touma, but the portal that would bring him in front of Louise was negated. Also, Touma being in Halkegenia is independent of Louise's summoning spell. You can say Touma is like Leivinia or Lessar, but just slightly different. He woke up as nothing, like being dumped into a strange world, unlike Leivinia who woke up as a noble, or Lessar as a maid.

However, the rune marking on Touma's left hand is definitely due to Louise's summoning spell. Yeah, he's just Louise's familiar who only didn't get summoned right in front of her.

I wrote this fic because I wanted to get out of my comfort zone by writing something different, and that I was rather tired of the 'Louise summons X in the ritual. And the next scene would be something like Louise ill-treating the familiar inside her room.'

So yeah, that's about all.

Do rate and review... I guess.

See you.


	3. Chapter 2

"Louise The Zero is truly Louise The Zero."

"Yeah, her own familiar attacked her on sight."

"I think it must be because the Nidhoggr found it an insult to be her familiar."

"You should be thankful that Leivinia saved your sorry ass back there."

Shut up. Louise thought as she kept on walking in the hallway.

Thanks to yesterday's incident, Louise was now the laughing stock of her classmates. Her own familiar sliced into two by Leivinia to save her life?

Am I such a failure that even my familiar wants to kill me to escape the bond?

She curled her hands into fists, suppressing anger and shame within her.

Why? Why am I such a failure?!

No matter how hard Louise tried, her spells would end up in explosions. No matter how many notes she took, how attentive she was during classes, and how much time she spent on studying, the results would always be same.

In short, zero magical talent.

I want to prove to people that I'm not Louise The Zero. That they're wrong to think I have zero magical talent!

This was her only dream.

But that dream was in danger of being shattered into pieces.

She could not help but wipe off a small tear that escaped from her eyes.

Itsuwa happened to pass by Louise, and noticed that she was wiping a tear away.

"What's wrong? Miss Valliere."

Louise put on an haughty look in an attempt to hide her troubles, "Nothing. You stupid Japanese."

Japanese was sometimes used as a derogatory term by nobles to insult them because it's a reminder that their status in society is even lower than a commoner.

Itsuwa knew that Louise said that because of her prideful nature as a noble on the surface, so she took no offence and kept on smiling.

"Is it because of that incident yesterday...?"

Louise dropped her haughty look and smiled weakly, "Yes."

The both entered the kitchen quarters. There was no one around as Lessar was out to buy groceries at the nearby town and the other maids were busy with their own work.

"It's just you and me here." Itsuwa said.

Perhaps it was because Louise was an outcast in this magic academy, but she was one of rare nobles that treats everyone Japanese or not equally even though Louise may not seem that way on the surface.

This was why Itsuwa could be alone with a noble like Louise without suffering from injuries. What's incredible was that Louise treated a Japanese like her as a friend.

"... I might be leaving this magic academy soon."

"Why?"

"Yesterday, I finally succeeded in the ritual, I was so happy that I got a really powerful familiar, but my familiar wanted to kill me. I really wanted to prove that I do have some magical talent by at least getting the summoning ritual right.

"I keep telling myself not to give up. So long as I don't give up, I'll prove to everyone that I'm not Louise The Zero. But even my familiar finds me a failure to the point where he would kill me just to be free from the bond. If that's the case, what's the point of studying magic when I'm clearly not cut out for it?"

Itsuwa put a hand on Louise's shoulder, "Perhaps you'll get a better familiar this afternoon? I'm sure that your hard work will pay off."

Louise began to tremble as tears began to flow. She wiped it away and stopped herself from letting more tears escape.

"'Nobles achieve nobility through the use of magic. I'm sure you know that. If I as a noble can't use magic, am I still worthy of my family name? Do I still have the rights to remain as a noble? I'm no different from a commoner! Commoner!"

"But I believe in y-"

"I'm not stupid. I'm sure that my summoning ritual later on will end up as a failure and Mother would probably pull me out of this academy, betrothe me to some rich nobles and I'll live life as a carefree lady forever."

Louise got up, "I'm going out to town."

"But the ritual is an hour and half away! Are you giving up just like that? What about your dream?"

"I was naive to believe in it."

* * *

The forest was an endless maze with no exit in sight.

"I think I'm lost. Such misfortune."

Birds could be heard chirping, and the air itself smelled fresh. The atmosphere seemed to be something from a fairytale-like forest setting.

Touma was worried about the strange marking in his left hand. He had touched the marking with his right hand, but nothing happened.

Probably a hard to rub off stain?

However, this was the least of his concerns. Finding a way out before starving to death was more important.

Speaking of which, where the hell am I?

Before he lost consciousness, Touma had grabbed the darkness with his right hand and declared that he would shatter Othinus's illusion. His Imagine Breaker must have taken effect because he heard an unnatural sound that appears whenever his right hand negated something.

It feels like Europe to me. And why does this forest look like that forest from the Red Riding Hood?

Could there be wild animals around?

Touma looked around. There was nothing. He made it out of the dense vegetation into a grassy path stretching endlessly straight ahead.

However, as Touma kept walking, from time to time, he would look to the sides. Somehow, he had a feeling that something undesirable would happen to him. Years of living with his misfortune has provided him with a sixth sense that will forewarn him of any impending misfortune... if its obvious enough.

Will a wolf or a bear appear out of nowhere? Or maybe a lion or a tiger?

Imagine Breaker was a power in his right hand that could negate any supernatural phenomenon.

Touma would have no problem dealing with a magician or a esper, but as for wild animals, his Imagine Breaker was worthless. Just as vulnerable as a normal human.

Just ahead, he spotted a pink-haired girl being surrounded by a three bandits. Two of them had knifes pointed towards her. A burnt horse's corpse laid beside her.

Touma stepped forth, "Just what are you doing?"

The bandit without a knife turned around, "Oh, a Japanese?"

He took out a wand from his clothes and sent a fireball towards Touma.

Touma lifted his right hand and negated the fireball. An unnatural sound of glass breaking reverberated through the air.

"A rather interesting esper."

"Is this Academy City? But I don't remember a forest inside this city?" Touma said.

Because of the limited land space in Academy City, there were no forests. Parks were the closest thing to a natural habitat.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Then can you tell me where I am?"

"On the outskirts of Tristain."

The bandit noticed that the boy were wearing strange clothes. Could this boy be more valuable than the noble that were holding captive?

Louise said, "I don't need a commoner, not to mention an esper to save a noble like me! Just pretend that you never saw anything. All they're after is just money, those dirty bandits."

Both bandits with the knife growled, "What did you just say? Dirty? You fucking noble. You're a piece of shit without your wand."

One of the bandit kicked Louise in the stomach, and she fell to the ground, clutching her stomach in pain.

Touma was in a difficult situation. Two person armed with knifes could deal with him effortlessly. After all, his Imagine Breaker can only negate supernatural phenomenon such as magic. It cannot help him defend against a knife.

But he could at least save the girl by luring the bandits away. Just like he always did. In fact, change the forest setting into an alley in Academy City setting and nothing much would have changed.

Touma took out his wallet. Upon looking at his wallet, the bandits seemed to express great interest in it, which surprised Touma. It was like they've never seen a wallet before.

Alright, here's my chance.

He shook his wallet a little, "This wallet is worth even more than what the girl has with her. If you want it, then come and get it."

The pink-haired noble would probably have around 100 gold with her. And the black, spiky-haired boy was claiming that the strange object he was dangling around is worth more than that.

Louise took out a black pouch, "Just take my money and go."

It was obvious what the commoner was planning. He wanted to use that strange thing that he was holding to lure the bandits away from her. She did not like to owe a commoner any favors.

However, there was something strange about this commoner. When his right hand negated the fireball, the same sound from yesterday during her failed summoning ritual appeared.

Who exactly is this guy? Is he my familiar? But my familiar was a Nidhoggr who was sliced into two.

The bandits thought of a better idea.

After taking Louise's pouch, they turned towards Touma.

Touma thought. What a familiar scene.

"Such misfortune."

* * *

"Get back here!"

"Cheh. You're pretty good for a shitty esper!"

Normally, most people would have stopped running, bending forward as they pant heavily. However, the three bandits had equal or better stamina than Touma, which was a rarity in Academy City.

It was strange that the bandits were mentioning espers without knowing what Academy City is. Espers is an unique term used for ability users developed by Academy City. How is it possible for one to know espers without knowing Academy City?

"Do you even know what does being an esper mean?!" Touma shouted back.

"You're an esper yourself and you don't know that? Are you retarded or something?"

"You're the retarded one for not knowing what Academy City is when you know what's an esper!"

"Like I said before, what the fuck is an Academy City?!"

Touma began running in a zig-zag manner to dodge the fireballs from behind. He glanced back, and saw that the bandits were in a triangle formation, with the person firing at the front.

After he was sure that he lured the bandits far away from that pink-haired girl, Touma threw his wallet sideways deep inside the trees.

He expected all the bandits to quit chasing him, and find the wallet, but only the two bandits with knifes went inside. The remaining fireball bandit were still after him.

"Strip off your clothes as well!"

"Are you secretly gay?!"

"I'm sure we'll make quite a fair bit by selling your clothes to some collectors."

What's with this misfortune?!

This was the first time that robbers were after his clothes and money. Not that Touma was robbed before... there was nothing to rob anyway. A complete broke ass through and through ever since Index stayed with him.

Wait... only the fireball guy is left.

Touma swerved around, and negated a fireball with his right hand.

"Are you serious about stripping me?"

The fireball bandit smirked, "Nope. I just want to see if that legend is true. Without the two idiots around to bother me, I can finally have a proper duel with you."

"What legend? And why would you want to duel me?"

The bandit was taken aback.

"Eh? Did you somehow lose your memory and woke up with zero knowledge of this world?!"

Touma scratched his head, "Not really... but I really have zero knowledge."

"While I personally believe in the seven legendary espers who will rise once again to save us, there is another obscure legend that an esper power that can nullify magic and esper abilities will appear to save us instead. What's that power called again? ... Forget it. It seems that the power actually does exist somehow."

"Wait, by us, you mean..."

"Yes, espers." The fireball bandit threw his wand aside, "I only use this wand as a disguise to hide my esper abilities."

He formed a fireball in his palm, "Let's not waste any more time!"

Touma negated every single fireball that the bandit was throwing. Fortunately, it was all directed at Touma, so all Touma needed to do was to raise his right hand, shift left and right to negate all of them.

"Are you stupid? We're in a forest! Just a single spark would light up the whole forest! And what's your definition of espers anyway?"

"Espers are Japanese people who possess strange, but limited magic that requires no wand and incarnation. Not all Japanese people are espers, but a lot of us are. Those fucking nobles are determined to eliminate us because they view us a threat to their nobility."

"But you don't look... Japanese?"

The two bandits with knifes were probably Japanese, but the fireball bandit looked more European than Japanese.

"I'm half-Japanese, an illegitimate child. I sometimes rob nobles who pass through this forest for money. After all, even life as an ordinary commoner is really tough."

There's no mistaking it. I'm in a different world. What seven legendary espers? Aren't they the seven Level 5s in Academy City? And yet this guy has no idea what Academy City is?!

Something weird must have happened when his Imagine Breaker negated Othinus's attempt to end the world.

"I'm Japanese, and an esper as well. We're the same kind, so why are you robbing me?" Touma said.

The fireball bandit laughed, "Is there rule saying that I can't rob someone of the same kind as me? That's really stupid. Even commoners steal from each other."

Touma sighed, "So what do want from me? I'm not surrendering my clothes."

"Like I said, I just want a duel with you."

The fireball bandit produced two fireballs in each palm, "Come on! Fight me!"

"Didn't I mention that fighting here would easily cause the whole area to catch fire?!"

"If you really think that would happen, then you don't really understand esper's abilities at all."

He hurled the two fireballs at Touma, who rushed forward and negated both fireballs by sweeping his right hand.

Touma may not have understood the esper's abilities in this world, but he wasn't about to believe him just like that. A forest fire was no laughing matter.

Because of Touma's speed, the fireball bandit was caught off guard, leaving an opening at the front.

Just when Touma almost swung his fist through the bandit, an explosive wind knocked the both away. A green lightning struck the bandit, and he went unconscious.

"Kill steal!"

Touma winced in pain as he got up. It was a familiar voice.

"I'm on top."

Touma turned to see Lessar in a maid suit riding a flying broomstick while carrying a grocery bag.

* * *

"Just what is going on?" Touma said.

He was walking on the ground while Lessar was cruising on her flying broomstick above him.

"How would I know? It's probably your Imagine Breaker that we're stuck in this strange world."

Initially, Lessar thought that her magic was lost forever in this world after hearing Leivinia's explanation to why her magic didn't work.

However, she heard news that a noble named Louise summoned Nidhoggr, a dragon from the Norse Mythology. Also, she found that there was a dining hall named Alviss Dining Hall. Alviss was a dwarf in Norse mythology who was turned to stone through Thor's trickery.

Then it struck Lessar that her magic was Norse Mythology mixed with Christianity. Because it was mixed with Christianity, a religion that does not exist in this world, her magic wouldn't work. After removing Christianity elements in her magic, it worked perfectly, though the overall effect was now weaker.

Lessar said, "Not to mention that this must be Othinus's failed attempt in recreating the world she wanted because of your Imagine Breaker interfering. No reason why Norse Mythology magic works, but nobody knows what the heck does Norse even mean? At least people know that tarot cards are divinition tools."

"So you mean if we find Othinus, we'll have a chance of getting out of this place?"

"Well, you can say so, but whether we're able to find her is another thing."

Touma heaved a sigh of relief. At least there was hope in returning back to his world.

"Anyway, what the hell are you doing in a maid suit?"

"I woke up as a maid in this world. Apparently, I'm a fallen noble from Albion who came to a magic academy as a permanent full-time maid. Ahh stupid Leivinia, she woke up as a noble. If I wasn't a fallen noble, I would be enjoying life instead of working as a maid!"

Lessar silently cursed that her maid outfit wasn't in black and yellow like the shocking maid who climbed onto Touma's lap, saying that she would do anything so long as he takes her along to where GREMLIN is. Her power level to seduce her target has been reduced by 40%.

"Leivinia? She's here as well?"

"Yeah, but recently, she's been in the library all the time. Perhaps she's looking for a way out by thoroughly study the religion and magic system of this world."

"By the way, where are we going?" Touma asked.

"Help you get a job. Don't tell me you plan to live your life as a jungle man?"

They reached the entrance of the magic academy.

* * *

Itsuwa, Lessar and Touma were at the fountain washing clothes.

"You really don't remember me?" Touma said.

"I've never met you before, but how do you know my name?" Itsuwa said.

Touma wondered if this was actually an upgraded version of the Angel Fall's incident. Instead of people changing appearances without them realizing anything, their identities along with the world they lived in were changed instead.

So far, Lessar, Leivinia and himself were aware of the change. If the pattern is correct, then Index and Mikoto should also be in the same situation as them. Fortunately, Mikoto was a Level 5, so she would no problem surviving in this world, and take care of Index as well... or at least this was what Touma hoped. Then again, if espers exists, then there's no reason why Mikoto's ability wouldn't work.

"I have a friend named Itsuwa who looks a lot like you, that's why."

Itsuwa nodded, "Oh. You're really lucky to be working here you know. It's hard for a Japanese to find decent jobs with all the discrimination going around."

"Is it because of the esper thing? There was a bandit saying that nobles were out to kill espers because they viewed them as a threat or something."

"It's true that the stronger espers and mages have a strenuous relationship, but the discrimination in job opporunities is mostly because we look different from them."

Touma was reminded of a history lesson in class regarding the blacks in America. Even though its the 20th century, and most whites are not racist assholes, but discrimination still occur every now and then. Now that he's probably stuck in an era similar to the 1600s, the discrimination can only get worse.

Lessar said, "You should have seen the Japanese in town. Some of them were publicly displayed like products on sales. 2500 gold fo-."

Touma dropped his washboard and covered Lessar's mouth with his wet hands, "Shh! Don't you have some tact in speaking."

"It's okay." Itsuwa said, "Even though we Japanese have esper abilities, but many of us are actually really weak. We can at most manage against a dot mage, but line mage and above is beyond us. If only more of us were to be stronger like Suzushina Yuriko, maybe those nobles would actually start respecting us as a race like those elves."

Touma now understood how the legend of the seven legendary espers came about.

"Just wondering, do you happen to know Misaka Mikoto? She's one of the legendary seven esper known as the Railgun."

Itsuwa tilted her head in confusion, "Misaka Mikoto? Did you just give a random name to the Railgun? But it's a nice name."

Touma sighed, "I know her personally. She's a dangerous person who would casually fire one billion volt to a random stranger whenever she's angry. I know because I'm an unfortunate victim. If it wasn't for the power in my right hand, I would have been dead a long time ago."

"Volt? Shouldn't it be one billion lightning strikes since her ability is to shoot lightning?"

The mental image of Mikoto summoning one billion lightning strikes from the sky horrified Touma.

"It's a measurement of how powerful her lightning is. One billion volt is her strongest. I think its powerful enough to easily destroy a town."

"As expected of a legendary esper." Itsuwa smiled, as if she was smiling at some distant future, "Oh yes, I'd like to ask what does a Railgun mean in your world? It's a mystery that I've always been wondering since a gun has nothing to do with electricity."

Itsuwa believed that Touma and Lessar were from another world different from her world, but not their nonsense about this world being a failed attempt of a Magic God? It seems as though the seven legendary espers exists in their world as well. Perhaps they could provide more insight into the legend.

"Err... what's the definition again...?" Touma said, "It looks like a orange laser beam of death made by firing arcade coins using electromagnetism."

"Your world certainly is strange. I'm completely lost."

Lessar stood up and stretched herself, "I'd be the one lost if he actually gave the proper definition. Just think of it as a cool title she gave herself. Though if I'm not wrong, its a electric gun or something I think."

Itsuwa put all her washed clothes into a basin, "Never mind. I understand that we might have some difficulty in communicating because we're from different worlds. Oh yes, its tea time already. You two, please help me serve the food and drinks."

And after tea time, its the familiar summoning ritual. Itsuwa thought.

Please don't give up on your dream, Miss Valliere.

* * *

It was a simple job.

All the three of them had to do was to serve cakes and tea to the nobles seated in a open space. A cool breeze blew past Touma as he held a sliver platter in one hand, and a tong in another.

Using the tong, Touma took a cake on the platter and placed it in a small, exquisite plate of the nobles. Lessar was also in charge of cake and Itsuwa was in charge of tea.

Itsuwa told him that he as a Japanese was lucky to work here because the nobles in this academy doesn't particularly discriminate against the Japanese. Whether be it commoner or Japanese, they treat them equally with disdain.

Which explains why many of the nobles had the same stuck-up attitude even to a foreigner like Lessar.

However, there are always exceptions.

A noble slammed his cup of tea down, "This isn't the tea I wanted, stupid Japanese."

Itsuwa said, "Then I'll go ge-"

He poured the scalding tea onto Itsuwa. Despite the pain, she managed a smile.

"I'm sorry. Then I'll go ge-"

The noble pushed her tray away, and slapped Itsuwa before slamming his foot into Itsuwa's stomach. As she knelt on the ground in pain, her smile never wavered.

Itsuwa got up, "Then I'll go ge-"

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!"

Touma saw the whole thing, threw his tray and tong aside, and rushed towards Itsuwa, creating some distance between the abusive noble and her.

The noble smirked, "Well, she got me the wrong tea. Of course I have to punish this filthy Japanese for not following orders properly."

"Who are you calling filthy Japanese?!"

"Why, the both of you of course. You aliens are even worse off as a commoner, and yet you dare wield the magic of the nobles? However, aliens being aliens, your magic is clearly inferior to our magic."

"I want you to apologise to Itsuwa."

"Why should I apologise to a defective product who clearly doesn't understand human speech?"

Touma clenched his fists, "Defective product?!"

It didn't matter if Itsuwa was abused for being Japanese, treating a human being as if they were mere objects was too much.

Just when Touma was about to punch that noble hard, a blonde noble who held a rose in one hand appeared.

"If you want an apology, you'd have to earn it, don't you agree?"

The boy who was Guiche De Gramont smiled while looking rather grandiose.

"However, what I'd suggest is that you mind your business and pretend that you never saw anything. I'll also ask Anthony to let it go and forgive the maid."

"You mean the defective product?" Anthony said, "On account of Guiche, I'll spare the both of you then."

"No. I want an apology."

Touma refused to let it go.

"It's a duel then. If you defeat me, I'll make Anthony apologise to the maid."

"But Guiche!"

"Do you doubt my ability to deal with a mere commoner?"

"I accept." Touma said.

"I'll see you at Vestri Court in five minutes."

Guiche and his friends including Anthony left for Vestri Court, excited to see how Guiche would pulverise the Japanese boy into tears.

Itsuwa said, her body trembling, "A-Are you stupid?! You're going to die! Why did you accept his duel? He was trying to save your life!"

"Save my life?"

"Do you know that angering a noble can mean death? Guiche was trying to prevent such a thing from happening. Even though some nobles may not show it, but they actually do respect us Japanese... no, commoners as human being."

Lessar said, "Yeah, yeah. Angering a noble can mean death, but I'm more worried about the noble than Kamijou."

"Why? Is he one of the legendary espers? I remember him saying that he personally knew one of them in another world."

"I'm not one of the legendary espers." Touma said, "But I will not allow anybody to treat you like an object and expect to get away with it."

* * *

Vestri Court was a garden located between two castle towers. It had a large area, and thanks to the shadows cast by the two towers, there wasn't much sunlight.

Right now, the area was packed with people who had heard of the duel that was about to happen.

Guiche raised his rose and nodded to the cheering crowd before turning to face his opponent.

He pointed the rose at Touma, "Foolish commoner. Do you really have a death wish? I'll give you one last chance. Just walk away as if nothing happened. It's not an embarrassment to surrender to a noble like me."

"Whether be it commoners or nobles, I won't allow anybody to treat others as if they are objects. Human beings should respect each other like human beings. That's why I want an apology."

Guiche nodded, "Very well."

A petal flew from his rose, and a feminine warrior clad with thick amour appeared.

"I'm a mage, so I fight with magic. No objection? Of course, you can still walk away if you find that fighting against magic is beyond you."

According to what Leivinia told Lessar, a second year like Guiche was a line-class mage. Child's play. However, this might not be accurate since it was probably calculated relative to how powerful she was.

"Nope."

"Then this Valkyre shall be your oppenent."

The Valkyre charged towards Touma, and it turned back into a petal when his right hand came into contact with the Valkyre.

This elicited a large response from the crowd.

"An esper?"

"I thought that most espers are really weak?"

"Some like Suzushina Yuriko is as powerful as three Square-class mage put together. Don't underestimate them."

Guiche was shocked to see his Valkrye destroyed by just a single touch of Touma's right hand.

It was Touma's turn to point his right fist at Guiche, "It's not too late to have you friend apologise."

Guiche laughed, trying to hide his fear, "Th-The victor has not even been decided. Just defeating one of my Valkyre doesn't me-mean anything."

He waved his rose wildly, summoning seven Valkrye. This was the maximum amount he could summon at once.

Surrounding Touma, they began their assault one by one, attacking from all directions.

He swung his fist into one Valkrye, turning it into petals. But another Valkrye slammed a fist into Touma's back. He gritted his teeth, turned back and dealt with that Valkrye.

For every one Valkrye which Touma negated, another Valkrye would land a blow on Touma. Since there were seven Valkrye, seven heavy blows were inflicted.

Unable to keep on standing, Touma collapsed onto the ground.

Itsuwa and Lessar rushed through the crowd and went over to a barely conscious Touma.

"Oi, are you okay?" Lessar said.

Itsuwa was almost in tears, "Idiot. It's just an apology. You don't have to go so far for me."

The strange marking on Touma's left hand began to glow.

"What do you mean its just an apology."

Touma stood up, shocking the crowd.

Each blow was powerful enough to create craters on a castle wall. Guiche never thought that a commoner like Touma could even match one, not to mention seven, and was still able to stand after receiving seven direct blows.

"Th-That's impossible! Why are you still standing?!"

"If you really think that just because you people are nobles, you can treat other people of lower statuses like trash, then let me first break that illusion of yours."

Guiche summoned another seven Valkryes. However, like an unstoppable object, Touma kept moving forward. No matter how hard the Valkrye hit him, he never stopped, and swatted them away like files with his right hand.

Guiche wanted to run away from this monster who seemed to have unlimited endurance. However, as a noble, it would be shameful if he ran away.

Touma grabbed him by the collar.

Guiche shouted, reduced to shivering jelly, "No! Not the face!"

"Apologise." Touma said.

"Anthony!"

Anthony, who was terrified at how it seemed impossible to knock him unconscious, and his power to negate Guiche's Valkyre, apologised to Itsuwa and quickly ran away.

The strange marking in Touma's left hand stopped glowing, and Touma fell to the ground as the energy that kept him standing disappeared.

Since the duel was over, the crowd began to disperse.

Also, Louise's familiar summoning ritual was about to begin. Thus, many of them were rushing and the area was empty within seconds.

Itsuwa was now in tears, "I re-really thought that you're going to die back there!" and quickly wiped her tears away.

Touma smiled, "This is really nothing. I've faced much worse enemies than this noble."

"He even fought Fiamma Of The Right and lived," Lessar said, "Don't worry about this guy dying. It'll take a lot more than that to kill him."

After resting for a few minutes, Touma got up, his whole body burning with agony, but at least he could finally stand.

A green blob of light appeared out of nowhere. It attempted to swallow Touma, but his right hand negated the light.

The light was persistent. It kept on appearing. However, Touma negated the light without fail. Eventually, it stopped.

"What is this strange light that keeps on appearing?" Touma said.

Itsuwa muttered, "Miss Valliere... you never gave up in the end."

She turned to Touma, "It must be a summoning portal. I know its selfish of me since you've done a lot for me, but can you do me just one more favour?"

"What favour?"

"You must be Miss Valliere's new familiar, but your esper ability is preventing the portal from teleporting you to her."

"Wait, so the strange markings on my left hand...?"

"Familiar rune markings. It's proof of the familiar bond with your master."

Actually, Itsuwa had no idea whether if those markings were really familiar rune markings, but it probably should be so.

Even though Lessar wasn't a rune magician, with her knowledge of runes only limited to the Oplia runes, a rune that isolates chosen individuals within the vicinity where the runes were applied, she could tell that the markings were not runic alphabets.

"It looks more like a three-year-old doodle than rune markings to me."

"Whether those markings are really familiar rune markings, could you appear as that girl's familiar? Together with your esper ability, it should be enough to convince them."

"What's that girl name?" Touma said.

"Miss Louise Francoise Le Blanc De La Valliere. She's a kind noble who treats me as a friend.

"Her dream is to prove that she's not Louise The Zero, that she has some magical talent and could at least get the familiar summoning ritual right. If she fails the ritual, she'd quit learning magic in this academy and be forever branded as a person with zero magical talent. That's why I want you to appear as her familiar so that Miss Valliere will be convinced that she succeeded in the ritual."**  
**

"Isn't that cheating?"

Itsuwa smiled, with a tinge of sadness.

"I just don't want her to give up trying. Even though Miss Valliere ends up failing every spell she casts, but she never gave up on her dream to succeed in casting a spell correctly and worked even harder. I'm just a Japanese with no esper ability. I can't even protect myself, let alone others.

"But I really want to protect that dream of hers. Since I'm unable to do so, could you help me protect her dream instead? It's okay if you don't want to, I understand... I know that it's too much of me!"

Lessar said, "Of course it's too much. Don't be an idiot, Kamijou Touma. Do you even know what it means to be a familiar? A pet! You'll be treated no better than a cat or a dog."

"Where's the familiar summoning ritual place?"

Lessar was dumbfounded, "Are you fucking serious?!"

"Why?" Itsuwa's voice almost dropped to a whisper, "We only knew each other for less than a day, yet you're willing to do so much for me?"

Touma let out a small chuckle, "It's for that Louise's dream right? Anyway, there was a strange voice calling for me while I was unconscious in a forest. I'm sure it was her but my Imagine Breaker had negated the summoning portal. Perhaps I'm really her familiar somehow."

"You're an idiot. Even if that's the case, you could choose not to become her familiar and ignore that stupid voice." Lessar said.

Even though Touma had a choice, in order to protect that girl's dream, he decided to become Louise's familiar.

"Yes, I'm an idiot."

* * *

Louise stood at the field, with students surrounding her, though they were sure to keep a good distance away in case an explosion happened.

Because she was robbed of her money, and the horse killed, Louise had no choice but to return. Actually, she could continue walking. After all, the path to the nearby city was mostly straight with some twists and bends along the way.

Perhaps it was a sign from the founder Brimir that she should not give up without trying, so Louise was here now, wand in hand, waiting for Colbert to give the signal that it was time to start the familiar summoning ritual.

Colbert nodded, "Miss Valliere, you may begin."

Louise raised her wand, "Somewhere in this world, my wise, divine and beautiful servant. Heed my call as I summon you into this world!"

The same sound from yesterday appeared. However, other than that, nothing happened.

It was also the same sound that appeared when a black, spiky-haired boy negated a fireball from the bandit mage.

Why? What is the meaning of this?

Despite a few more tries, it was the same result.

"Do you think she'd summon another Nidhoggr?"

"Nah, that's just a fluke. Louise The Zero has proven even if she could summon something incredible, she's unable to tame it as her familiar."

"As expected, how do you expect a person with no magical talent to properly summon a Nidhoggr."

The murmurings grew louder as Louise tried over and over again.

Laughter soon followed after. All of them mocking Louise.

I'm not a failure! I'm not a failure! I can at least get the summoning ritual right!

No matter how hard Louise tried, the same sound mercilessly repeated itself.

Colbert was worried. Louise seemed to be on the verge of breaking down.

"Miss Valliere?"

"I WILL NOT GIVE UP!"

Tears were falling from Louise's cheek. With trembling hands, she repeated the ritual again.

The laughter and murmuring stopped. It was almost too cruel to watch.

However, nothing has changed.

Once again, the sound would just repeat itself each time Louise did the ritual.

I was really naïve to have believed that a person like me can actually get something right for once.

At this point, her dream has been completely shattered.

I'm really Louise The Zero. Maybe I should just accept this fact and move on.

... Or should have been completely shattered.

"Miss Louise Francoise Le Blanc De La Valliere."

A boy with black, spiky hair called out.

The students in the crowd recognised Touma as the monster who defeated Guiche through his near infinite endurance, and the magic negation ability he possessed.

Louise recognised Touma as the boy who she met in the forest.

She wiped her tears away, "What do you want, commoner?"

"I'm your familiar."

"What?! You, a commoner as my familiar? Is this some kind of a joke?"

However, there was a high chance that Touma was actually her familiar. After all, the same sound from her repeated summoning failures just now would also appear when that boy negated magic from the bandit mage.

Colbert said, "What proof do you have?"

"If you don't believe me, do the ritual one more time."

Relcutantly, Louise did the ritual. A green blob of light appeared. Before it could swallow Touma, he reached out his right hand, and the light disappeared.

The sound was exactly the same as the sound that appeared during Louise's repeated failures just now.

Touma pointed to the strange markings on his left hand, "This is a familiar rune, proving that I'm indeed Miss Valliere's familiar. But she's only unable to teleport me here because of my negation ability. I've been searching for the owner of that voice who called for me, and now I've finally found her."

Colbert put a finger to his chin, "Hmm. It is indeed strange that you'd summon an esper as your familiar, not to mention a familiar that can negate the summoning portal. In any case, since your familiar has found you, its time for you to finish the ritual."

It was enough proof for Louise that he is truly her familiar.

But a commoner as my familiar?!

"Stay still, commoner!" Louise's cheek began to redden, "My name is Louise Francoise Le Blanc De La Valliere," and declared. "Pe-Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers, bless this hu-humble being and make him my fa-familiar."

Touma felt Louise's soft lips touching his lips. A wave of strawberry scent attacked Touma's nose as the wind ruffled Louise's hair.

From the crowd, Kirche said, "Louise... Actually, since the runes are already inscribed on him, there's no need for you to kiss him to finish the ritual."

"Wh-What did you just say?!" Louise said.

She turned towards Touma.

What a familiar scene. It feels like Index at the bus stop when Leivinia and Lessar was sticking onto me. Except that she's isn't going to bite my head like Index.

Except that things turned out rather differently.

"Let's go, familiar."

Touma blinked. He had expected something like an electrical shock, or some form of assault.

"Didn't you hear what I said? Go. Follow me. Or do you need a leash?"

"Alright, alright, I heard you."

It seems as though his life as Louise's familiar wasn't going to be easy.

Meanwhile, a girl with short, blue hair holding a staff was looking intently at Touma the whole time, though he never noticed her.

Kirche nudged the girl, "Come on, Tabitha, let's get going as well."

Tabitha nodded, and left with Kirche.

From a corner, Lessar shook her head in despair as she thought about Touma being Louise's familiar.

Poor Kamijou. His misfortune is truly something. Hmm... If only we had this summoning ritual back in my world, I could summon Kamijou as my familiar and force him to work for New Light instead of going through such a roundabout method.

As Lessar went back to work, she thought that perhaps Touma being Louise's familiar might show them a way out of this world.

Somehow.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Part of me is saying that this chapter isn't that bad, but the other part is saying that its rather awful. Inner criticism I suppose, but I think its decent enough to be posted as a chapter.

This AU Halkegenia reminds me of Code Geass somehow with all the discrimination against the Japanese.

Anyway, about the rune markings on Touma's left hand, so far it gave Touma incredible endurance and probably some healing powers as well. Basically, in RPG terms, Touma is a tanker. Kinda fits with the Gandalfr's role of protecting its master.

I'm not sure what you think, but I think its a rather okay upgrade because he's isn't upgraded to some super OP hero who can move at supersonic speed and punch through walls as if its nothing.

And why wasn't the runes negated, I think I'll leave that as a mystery for now.

EDIT: Since a reviewer brought this issue out, I'll address it here because I think its rather important for me to explain this.

Why is it that the portal was negated, but not the runes? I'll leave a little spoiler here.

Remember that the Imagine Breaker is a reference point or template to the original world. When Othinus's ended the world, there's no more reference point or template anymore.

The Imagine Breaker interfered by re-inputting the template to recreate the original world at the same time when Othinus was inputting a new template of her new world, creating an error which resulted in this AU Halkegenia.

This created loopholes which the Void Magic managed to exploit which corrupted the Imagine Breaker, causing it to be unable to negate the rune markings, and so his tanker ability due to the power of the rune markings. More will be explained later in detail throughout the story, but I think this is sufficient enough for you canon purists to hold your flames.

Hope you liked the chapter.

See you.


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